This is what $44K in Texas cocaine looks like

Michael Martinez is charged with delivery of a controlled substance, money laundering and child endangerment. Photo: Wharton County Sheriff's Office

Michael Martinez is charged with delivery of a controlled substance, money laundering and child endangerment. Photo: Wharton County Sheriff's Office

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Michael Martinez is charged with delivery of a controlled substance, money laundering and child endangerment. Photo: Wharton County Sheriff's Office

Michael Martinez is charged with delivery of a controlled substance, money laundering and child endangerment. Photo: Wharton County Sheriff's Office

This is what $44K in Texas cocaine looks like

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An El Campo man remained Monday in the Wharton County Jail after police found him with 1.5 pounds of cocaine valued at $44,000 on the street.

Michael Martinez, 28, was arrested about 10:30 p.m. May 28, when police executed a search warrant at his home near U.S. 59 on El Campo's south side.

He is charged with delivery of a controlled substance, money laundering and endangering a child. Bond for the three charges totals $116,000, according to law enforcement records.

The child endangerment charge was added because there were seven children in the house, ranging in age from a few months to 19 years, said Lt. Russell Urban of the El Campo Police Department. The infant was in the same room as the cocaine, which was in a child's toy bag, he said.

If convicted on the charges, Martinez faces five to 99 years in prison. At the time of his arrest, he was on parole for an earlier drug charge, police said.

While a drug seizure of that size would not be unusual in Houston, for a small town like El Campo, it's uncommon, Urban said.

"On the highway, we stop truckloads of marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine all headed to Houston from down south," Urban said. "But for our local dealers to have that amount is pretty rare."